Real Progress - Day 38

I've been holding on to this dandy photograph, keeping it under lock and key, but since today was an uneventful day with little to share but the excitement of finally weighing less than I have in over 5 years, I thought I'd unleash this classic fat photo of me for your viewing entertainment. No....I'm not pregnant here. This picture was taken at my mother-in-law's funeral, just last August. I'm not sure which one of my naughty brother-in-law's snapped it but.....there I am graveside, looking like I'm expecting a toddler. I suspect I weighed about 180 pounds at the time this was taken. Today I weighed in at 149....Can I get an AMEN?

I think seeing this photograph was my own personal AHA moment. I mean look at how bloated I am, not just in my stomach, but in my face as well. I seriously look like I swallowed a beach ball. Looking at it makes me laugh out loud now, but I promise you that when this picture was sent out over the internet to all my relatives in the funeral photos, I was horrified.

When I first went raw, almost three years ago, I lost a nice amount of weight. I think I lost about 20 pounds in the first three months of being totally raw. From my memory, the lowest I ever got down to was 151. I am just over 5'7, so that's not a weight that would be considered out of the normal range. However, I am extremely small boned, so the "experts" have always suggested that I shoot for somewhere around 125 - 135, which is my current weight goal. So how did I get from 151 back up to 180 late last summer? I did the whole yo-yo thing that so many raw foodists do....have great success and feel great eating raw and then get lazy or go back to emotional eating and the addiction of certain cooked, savory foods during times of stress. Nana Shelton's funeral was the last of four funerals last year.....we lost 4 close family members from February through August and I just let myself go to food as my comfort. I am not embarrassed anymore, those were just the facts and that's how I chose to deal with it.

The only other time in my adult life that I weighed under 151 was during the "dark years." I refer to the dark years as the time when I was a newly divorced single parent, a salon/spa owner and I was addicted to diet pills and diuretics. I hardly ate anything all day and then at night I'd have a bowl of Campbell's soup and a half bottle of red wine. I looked good but I was chronically exhausted and in a constant state of crankiness and stress. There wasn't anything healthy going on in my life during those years, so I only share it now as a point of reference of how far I've managed to come.

I have had a request from one of my regular readers for more pictures of me on the blog. I doubt that this was the picture they had in mind but it tells a story. I have asked my sweet husband if he would take some new shots of me tomorrow so we can compare and get a visual of the progress. Remember....I am just over a third of the way through this juice feast, so of course I am still "under construction." I am hoping that the new photos will show the changes in my skin and features as well as some recognizable weight loss. It is so exciting that I can actually see my bone structure surfacing now. I said hello to my ribs a few weeks ago.....I hadn't seen those old friends in a long time :- )

Enough with all of this for today....tune back in tomorrow for pictures, part 2!

Things I juiced today....
apples, pears, celery, bok choy, pineapple, cilantro, limes, romaine, cucumber, radishes, onion sprouts, jalapeno, red bell pepper, parsley, green onion, garlic, lemon, carrots, asparagus.
4 Quarts in total.
I also had some Spirulina, Hemp Oil, Probiotics, MSM, VitaMineral Green and I had a colonic.